tough
Americanadjective
-
tougher,
comparative
-
toughest
superlative
-
strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
- Antonyms:
- fragile
-
not brittle or tender.
-
difficult to masticate, as food.
a tough steak.
-
of viscous consistency, as liquid or semiliquid matter.
tough molasses.
-
capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy.
tough troops.
- Synonyms:
- durable
-
not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn.
a tough man to work for.
- Synonyms:
- inflexible
-
hardened; incorrigible.
a tough criminal.
-
difficult to perform, accomplish, or deal with; hard, trying, or troublesome.
a tough problem.
-
hard to bear or endure (often used ironically).
tough luck.
-
vigorous; severe; violent.
a tough struggle.
-
vicious; rough; rowdyish.
a tough character;
a tough neighborhood.
-
practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality; tough-minded.
-
Slang. remarkably excellent; first-rate; great.
adverb
noun
-
toughs
plural
idioms
-
hang tough, hang.
-
tough it out, to endure or resist hardship or adversity.
adjective
-
strong or resilient; durable
a tough material
-
not tender
he could not eat the tough steak
-
having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fit
a tough mountaineer
-
rough or pugnacious
a tough gangster
-
resolute or intractable
a tough employer
-
difficult or troublesome to do or deal with
a tough problem
-
informal unfortunate or unlucky
it's tough on him
noun
adverb
-
informal violently, aggressively, or intractably
to treat someone tough
-
informal to be or appear to be strong or determined
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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toughnessnoun
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untoughnessnoun
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supertoughadjective
-
toughishadjective
-
untoughadjective
-
toughlyadverb
-
untoughlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tough
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective); Old English tōh; compare Dutch taai, German zäh(e)
Explanation
The adjective tough is good for describing hard times. If you just got mugged, lost your job, got the flu, and broke your toe, you're having a really tough week. Tough means "strong, hard, unbending," and you can use it to describe many different things, like a tough exam, or a tough piece of beef jerky, or a tough day that you just want to be over. If a judge punishes criminals harshly to set examples, she's "tough on crime." We call people toughs if they seem likely to beat you up. Tough things are made to withstand a beating, like the tires on your mountain bike. Pronounce: TUFF.
Vocabulary lists containing tough
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Cassidy’s support almost certainly means that Blanche, who faced tough questioning from even some of Cassidy’s fellow Republicans over his loyalty to the president, will be confirmed as the country’s chief law-enforcement officer.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Tony already has a father, but he badly needs tough direction from a father figure like Chef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Space-trackers like Bill Gray knew it would be tough to observe evidence of the impact from Earth.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“What did raise many an eyebrow was Warsh’s tough talk on inflation, accompanied by no real indication that any actions were on offer anytime soon,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
The last thing you wanted was a CDO manager who asked lots of tough questions.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Like the cops, crooks and gangland toughs who populate his books, Don Winslow has something of a street fighter’s mentality.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
The entrepreneur, who for security reasons asked that neither he nor the specific nature of his business be identified, initially thought the calls were coming from neighborhood toughs pretending to have links to crime groups.
From Reuters ● Oct. 29, 2022
The hodgepodge of grievances brings to mind a scene from the 1953 movie “The Wild One,” about a gang of motorcycle toughs who invade a small California town.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2021
Mr. Williams was celebrated for delivering nuanced performances as swaggering street toughs, charming family men and smooth-talking gangsters.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 6, 2021
Since there was no applause from Fern and me the first time around, she started up again, as zombielike as she could, to imitate the toughs standing around outside the pool hall.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Replicating such a start will leave Arsenal's dreams of a first WSL title in eight seasons in tatters - and it could not be much tougher, with early trips to Stamford Bridge and Etihad Stadium.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
With the S&P 500 dividend yield near generational lows, chasing income in the stock market is getting tougher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Things have become tougher for property executives than in decades under Mamdani, who ran on a platform of making the city more affordable for lower-income New Yorkers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
But although the seasonal calendar points to a tougher period for stocks, NDR said cautious investor sentiment, improving market breadth and stock-favoring asset-allocation models suggest there isn’t enough evidence yet to turn bearish.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
But he is certain that it is much tougher for an immigrant to get ahead today than fifty years ago.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
"Now, he's taking on an entirely new challenge as he joins the ranks of the Gladiators, bringing his trademark physicality and competitive spirit to one of television's toughest arenas."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
A value above 1400 HV places the resulting carbide among the toughest materials commonly used in industry, below superhard substances such as sapphire and diamond.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Broad Peak is the world's 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000 metre-plus ascents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Asked to comment, Freefly described its device as “the world’s toughest drone” but didn’t address specific questions about its potential use on Everest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
“You’re right, Fig. I’m the toughest, strongest, most indestructible element ever, and I’ve got work to do.”
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
